Wearable device manager

ABSTRACT

A system for managing a plurality of wearable devices on a user receives information to be conveyed using haptic effects and determines an intent of the information. The system then determines, for each of the plurality of wearable haptic devices, a location of the wearable haptic device on the user and a haptic capability. The system then maps the information as a haptic effect to one or more of the wearable haptic devices based at least on the determined locations on the user and the haptic capabilities.

FIELD

One embodiment is directed to managing or controlling electronicdevices, and in particular to managing wearable electronic devices.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

As computer-based systems, such as game consoles, appliances, personalcomputers (“PCs”), servers, personal digital assistants (“PDAs”),cellular phones, “smart phones”, global positioning systems (“GPS”),etc., have become more prevalent in recent years, the portability ofsuch systems as well as human-machine interface devices becomesincreasingly important. Wearable electronic devices exist in the form ofBluetooth™ ear pieces and intelligent accessories such as helmets,glasses and bracelets. As these types of devices increase in variety,users may begin to wear and utilize many devices on various areas oftheir body, and these devices need to be controlled and managed.

SUMMARY

One embodiment is a system for managing a plurality of wearable deviceson a user. The system receives information to be conveyed and determinesan intent of the information. The system then determines, for each ofthe plurality of wearable devices, a location of the wearable device onthe user and a capability. The system then maps the information to oneor more of the wearable devices based at least on the determinedlocations on the user and the capabilities.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wearable device system in accordance withone embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system that can implement a wearabledevice haptic manager in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the functionality of the wearable devicemanager module of FIG. 1 when managing wearable haptic devices inaccordance with one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a system that includes astandalone device manager that can control remote wearable devices viawearable device haptic managers in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As discussed above, wearable devices are a developing trend in theconsumer market, and these devices can serve to provide haptic feedbackto users. “Haptic feedback” or “haptic effects” or “haptic output” caninclude kinesthetic feedback (such as active and resistive forcefeedback) and/or tactile feedback (such as vibration, texture, andheat). Examples of wearable devices include wrist bands, headbands,eyeglasses, rings, leg bands, arrays integrated into clothing, etc., orany other type of device that a user may wear on a body or can be heldby a user. Some wearable devices can be “haptically enabled”, meaningthey include mechanisms to generate haptic effects.

In one embodiment, when several wearable devices are worn by a user andstate information such as incoming calls, navigational cues or messagingis received, a wearable device haptic manager processes the stateinformation, and determines which one or more of the wearable deviceswill generate a haptic output. The determination can be based on thefunctionality or capability of each wearable device, the type of hapticoutput needed to be generated, and the perceptual limits of the user atthe location of each wearable device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wearable device system 100 in accordancewith one embodiment of the present invention. System 100 includeswearable device haptic manager 110, communication lines 115, 125, andremote wearable devices 120, 130. Lines 115, 125 can be any type of datacommunication means, including wired or wireless. In one embodiment,wearable device haptic manager 110 functions as a master device whileremote wearable devices 120, 130 function as slave devices. Although twowearable devices are shown in FIG. 1, in other embodiments any number ofwearable devices may be present and worn by the user.

A “manager layer”, which includes wearable device haptic manager 110,intelligently selects which remote wearable device 120, 130 (or morethan one of the devices), should generate haptic output to reflect astate or in response to an event. In one embodiment, a user will carrywearable device haptic manager 110 and will wear, in various places onthe user's body, wearable devices 120, 130. Examples of embodiments ofwearable devices 120, 130 are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,031,172,entitled “Method and Apparatus for Wearable Remote Interface Device”,the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference.

In general, wearable device haptic manager 110 is responsible forcontrolling all of the wearable devices worn by the user. In anotherembodiment, instead of a master/slave arrangement as shown in FIG. 1,the functionality of wearable device haptic manager 110 can bedistributed among one or more of the wearable devices. Further, insteadof the user wearing or carrying wearable device haptic manager 110, thefunctionality can be provided from a remote location such as a gamingconsole, a smartphone, or remotely from a network or “cloud”implementation.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system 10 that can implement wearabledevice haptic manager 110 of FIG. 1 in accordance with one embodiment ofthe invention. A separate embodiment of system 10 can implement any ofthe other elements shown in FIG. 1 (i.e., the wearable devices) as wellas the standalone device manager disclosed in FIG. 4 below. For any ofthese implementations, all of the elements shown in FIG. 2 may not beneeded or present. For example, in general, wearable device hapticmanager 110 does not generate its own haptic effects, so the actuatorshown in FIG. 2 may not be included when system 10 implements wearabledevice haptic manager 110. Further, none of the elements may need orinclude a display.

System 10 includes a bus 12 or other communication mechanism forcommunicating information, and a processor 22 coupled to bus 12 forprocessing information. Processor 22 may be any type of general orspecific purpose processor. System 10 further includes a memory 14 forstoring information and instructions to be executed by processor 22.Memory 14 can be comprised of any combination of random access memory(“RAM”), read only memory (“ROM”), static storage such as a magnetic oroptical disk, or any other type of computer-readable medium.

A computer readable medium may be any available medium that can beaccessed by processor 22 and may include both a volatile and nonvolatilemedium, a removable and non-removable medium, a communication medium,and a storage medium. A communication medium may include computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules or other data ina modulated data signal such as a carrier wave or other transportmechanism, and may include any other form of an information deliverymedium known in the art. A storage medium may include RAM, flash memory,ROM, erasable programmable read-only memory (“EPROM”), electricallyerasable programmable read-only memory (“EEPROM”), registers, hard disk,a removable disk, a compact disk read-only memory (“CD-ROM”), or anyother form of a storage medium known in the art.

In one embodiment, memory 14 stores software modules that providefunctionality when executed by processor 22. The modules include anoperating system 15 that provides operating system functionality forsystem 10. The modules further include a wearable device manager module16 that manages wearable devices, as disclosed in more detail below.System 10 will typically include one or more additional applicationmodules 18 to include additional functionality, such as smartphonerelated applications (if system 10 is a smartphone), APIs, etc.

System 10, in embodiments that transmit and/or receive data from remotesources, further includes a communication device 20, such as a networkinterface card, to provide mobile wireless network communication, suchas infrared, radio, Wi-Fi, or cellular network communication. In otherembodiments, communication device 20 provides a wired networkconnection, such as an Ethernet connection or a modem. Communicationdevice 20 can implement the needed functionality for communicating overcommunication lines 115 and 125 of FIG. 1.

Processor 22 is further coupled via bus 12 to a display 24, such as aLiquid Crystal Display (“LCD”), for displaying a graphicalrepresentation or user interface to a user. The display 24 may be atouch-sensitive input device, such as a touch screen, configured to sendand receive signals from processor 22, and may be a multi-touch touchscreen.

System 10 further includes one or more actuators 26. Processor 22 maytransmit a haptic signal associated with a haptic effect to actuator 26,which in turn outputs haptic effects. Actuator 26 may be, for example,an electric motor, an electro-magnetic actuator, a voice coil, a linearresonant actuator, a piezoelectric actuator, a shape memory alloy, anelectro-active polymer, a solenoid, an eccentric rotating mass motor(“ERM”) or a linear resonant actuator (“LRA”).

System 10 further includes one or more sensors 28. Sensors 28 mayinclude an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a Global Positioning System(“GPS”) sensor, a touch-sensitive input device (e.g., touch screen,touchpad), a texture stylus, an imaging sensor, or some other type ofsensor. Sensors 28 may be configured to detect changes in acceleration,inclination, inertia, or location. Sensors 28 may also include alocation sensor, rotary velocity sensor, light sensor, pressure sensor,texture sensor, camera, microphone, or other type of sensor.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of the functionality of wearable device managermodule 16 of FIG. 1 when managing wearable haptic devices in accordancewith one embodiment. In one embodiment, the functionality of the flowdiagram of FIG. 3 is implemented by software stored in memory or othercomputer readable or tangible medium, and executed by a processor. Inother embodiments, the functionality may be performed by hardware (e.g.,through the use of an application specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”),a programmable gate array (“PGA”), a field programmable gate array(“FPGA”), etc.), or any combination of hardware and software.Embodiments may perform all of the functionality disclosed in FIG. 3, ora subset of the functionality.

At 310, state or any type of haptic information to be conveyed to thewearable devices is received by haptic manager 110. For example, thisinformation may include incoming calls or messages, ambient information,etc. The information may be generated by haptic manager 110 itself, orreceived from another device such as a cell phone. The information, inaddition or instead of haptic information, may include audio or videocontent.

At 320, the intent of the haptic information or other information to beconveyed to the wearable devices is determined. For example, the intentmay include an alert, a notification, background information,directional information, etc.

At 330, all of the wearable devices that have haptic capabilities (orother capabilities such as being able to play audio or video) and arebeing worn by a user is determined. For example, haptic capable wearabledevices may include devices such as a ring, bracelet, headband,gamepads, etc., or any device that can be worn or held by a user.

At 340, the location on the user of each of the wearable devices isdetermined. For example, the location may be a user's right wrist, leftankle, finger, etc.

At 350, the perceptual human thresholds for each location of thewearable devices is determined. For example, the determination mayrecognize that fingertips contain more nerve endings and thus have ahigh perceptual human threshold for sensation than a person's back orarm areas. Therefore, a wearable device worn on a finger will beassociated with a higher perceptual human threshold than a wearabledevice worn on an arm.

At 360, for each wearable haptic device, the types of haptic feedbackavailable, the number and type of actuators present, and the currentstatus is determined. For example, available haptic feedback may bevibration, deformability, pressure, etc. A current status may berecognizing whether a wearable device is currently playing a hapticeffect, etc. Other output capabilities, such as audio and video, mayalso be determined each device. Further, for audio or video playbackfunctionality, the current status may be determinative of where theaudio or video is played. For example, a camera of a smart phone canprovide a current status that the user is looking at a wrist display, inwhich case haptic manager 110 may determine that video should bedisplayed on the wrist display in conjunction with an incoming call,rather than on some other wearable device.

At 370, the intent of the haptic information is mapped to thecapabilities of the wearable devices and to specific wearable devices.For example, wearable device haptic manager 110 can intelligently mapthe intent of the state information received and convey such informationback to one or more specific wearable devices worn by a user.Alternatively, the intent may be mapped to multiple users with multiplewearable devices. Further, audio or video data may also be routed to theappropriate wearable devices, such as a device located on the user'swrist if the user is determined to be looking at a wrist display at 360.

As an example of the functionality of wearable device haptic manager110, assume a user has recently purchased a haptic enabled wrist watchand a haptic enabled ring as remote wearable devices to compliment hisaugmented reality haptic enabled glasses. The user, in one embodiment,is also carrying wearable device haptic manager 110. The user's hapticenabled cell phone/smartphone remains his primary commuting device andhe always keeps it in his backpack. The user is walking down the streetand receives an incoming call. Wearable device haptic manager 110discerns that it is an urgent call and outputs the haptic effect to allthe remote wearable devices 120, 130 that the user has available (e.g.,smartphone, ring, watch, glasses, etc.).

In another example, the user is walking down the street and receives anincoming call. Wearable device haptic manager 110 discerns that it is afriend calling and outputs the haptic effect to the user's watch usingpressure based haptic effects.

In another example, the user queries for directions and receivesturn-by-turn information wirelessly from a remote location (e.g., the“cloud”). Wearable device haptic manager 110 is aware that the user iswearing his watch on his right hand and his ring on his left hand. Ateach turn the user is provided with a left or right vibration toindicate turn left or right, etc. Either vibrating or no haptic feedbackcan indicate that the user should proceed straight ahead.

In a further example, the user is playing a video soccer game on hismobile device. Wearable device haptic manager 110 maps the hapticeffects generated in the game to the appropriate remote wearable device120, 130 according to game events such as kicking the ball or making agoal. For example, a header may be simulated via haptic effectsgenerated in the user's glasses.

In another example, the user is playing a videogame console system andhas picked up a specialty gaming controller. Wearable device hapticmanager 110 is aware of the networked device and routes all receivedhaptic effects from the user's mobile phone to the gaming controller.

In another example, the user has a bracelet on his wrist that has ahaptic array of actuators. A complex haptic effect that for exampleflows from right to left, is to be output/displayed to the user. For theuser's wrist, the appropriate sensitivity and active element spacing ischosen to best convey this flow based on the perceptual human threshold.However, if on the next day the same wearable device is worn on theankle or any other body area of the user, and the same haptic effectoutput is desired, wearable device haptic manager 110 will adjust (i.e.,increase) the intensity and spacing of the active haptic elements sothat the ankle or other body area can best perceive the flow of thehaptic effect.

In another embodiment, a standalone device manager can remotely managemultiple wearable device haptic managers, which in turn can managewearable devices worn by a corresponding user. FIG. 4 is a block diagramillustrating a system 400 that includes a standalone device manager 420that can control remote wearable devices 120, 130, 460, 470 via wearabledevice haptic managers 110, 450 in accordance with one embodiment of thepresent invention. Standalone device manager 420 is coupled to wearabledevice haptic managers 110, 450 via a network 410. Network 410 may beany type of wired or wireless connection.

In one embodiment, standalone device manager 420 can be considered astandalone device with no communication to other standalone devices andthat requires a local haptic manager (e.g., haptic manager 110). Inanother embodiment, standalone device manager 420 is self-aware of thecapabilities that it has, and can communicate this to other devices. Inanother embodiment, standalone device manager 420 controls peripheraldevices and can communicate and network with other self-aware standalonedevice and/or other devices that are in charge of other slave devices.

When standalone device manager 420 is self-aware, it can determine, forexample, if and where it is being worn on the user (e.g., wrist, ankle,etc.) and depending on the location can appropriately adjust the flow ofinformation and haptic output. For example, a cell phone can beconsidered a standalone device with a wearable manager and can determinewhat type of haptic output will be conveyed to the user depending onwhether it is held by the hand or worn around the arm. Further, thiscellphone having a standalone wearable manager and being worn on theleft arm can interact with other standalone devices such as apedometer-watch worn on the right arm. The cell phone may also have anavigation program and will display or command haptic effects on itselfor on the watch to signal, for example, left or right turns. The cellphone can command a haptic effect on the watch and indicate preciselywhat effect to play, or the cellphone can command a type of effect thatwill be further customized by the watch through the watch's wearablemanager.

As disclosed, in one embodiment a wearable device haptic managerdetermines the haptic capabilities of all wearable devices on a user,determines the human perceptual limits of each device, determines theintent of haptic information, and then selects one or more of thewearable devices that will output a haptic effect. Therefore, hapticeffects can be coordinated among multiple wearable devices, and the mosteffective wearable devices can be selected for outputting the hapticeffects. Further, other information, such as audio or video data, can besimilarly routed to one or more wearable devices.

Several embodiments are specifically illustrated and/or describedherein. However, it will be appreciated that modifications andvariations of the disclosed embodiments are covered by the aboveteachings and within the purview of the appended claims withoutdeparting from the spirit and intended scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer readable medium having instructionsstored thereon that, when executed by a processor, cause the processorto manage a plurality of wearable haptic devices on a user, the managingcomprising: receiving information to be conveyed using haptic effects;determining an intent of the information; determining for each of theplurality of wearable haptic devices, a location of the wearable hapticdevice on the user and a haptic capability; and mapping the informationas a haptic effect to one or more of the wearable haptic devices basedat least on the determined locations on the user and the hapticcapabilities.
 2. The computer readable medium of claim 1, furthercomprising for each of the locations on the user, determining aperceptual human threshold, wherein the mapping is based at least on theperceptual human thresholds.
 3. The computer readable medium of claim 1,wherein determining the haptic capability comprises determining types ofavailable haptic effects.
 4. The computer readable medium of claim 3,wherein the types of available haptic effects comprise at least one of:vibration, pressure, texture, temperature changes or deformation.
 5. Thecomputer readable medium of claim 1, wherein determining the hapticcapability comprises determining types of actuators in each wearablehaptic device.
 6. The computer readable medium of claim 1, the managingfurther comprising: determining a status of each of the plurality ofwearable haptic devices.
 7. The computer readable medium of claim 1,wherein the intent comprises at least one of: an alert, a notification,background information or directional information.
 8. The computerreadable medium of claim 1, the managing further comprising: receivingaudio or video data; routing the audio or video data to one or more ofthe wearable haptic devices.
 9. The computer readable medium of claim 1,wherein the receiving information to be conveyed using haptic effects isreceived from a standalone device manager.
 10. A wearable device managerin communication with one or more wearable devices, the wearable devicemanager comprising: a processor; a memory storing instructions that whenexecuted by the processor manage the wearable devices; wherein theprocessor, in response to receiving information to be conveyed:determines an intent of the information; determines, for each of thewearable devices, a location of the wearable device on a user and acapability; and maps the information to one or more of the wearabledevices based at least on the determined locations on the user and thecapabilities.
 11. The wearable device manager of claim 10, wherein theinformation is conveyed as a haptic effect, and the capability of thewearable device is a haptic capability.
 12. The wearable device managerof claim 10, the processor further determining, for each of thelocations on the user, a perceptual human threshold, wherein the mappingis based at least on the perceptual human thresholds.
 13. The wearabledevice manager of claim 11, wherein the haptic capability comprisestypes of available haptic effects.
 14. The wearable device manager ofclaim 13, wherein the types of available haptic effects comprise atleast one of: vibration, pressure, texture, temperature changes ordeformation.
 15. The wearable device manager of claim 11, wherein thehaptic capability comprises determining types of actuators in eachwearable device.
 16. The wearable device manager of claim 10, theprocessor further determining a status of each of the wearable devices.17. The wearable device manager of claim 10, wherein the intentcomprises at least one of: an alert, a notification, backgroundinformation or directional information.
 18. The wearable device managerof claim 10, wherein the information is conveyed as audio or video data,the processor routing the audio or video data to the one or morewearable devices.
 19. A computer implemented method for managing aplurality of wearable haptic devices on a user, the method comprising:receiving information to be conveyed using haptic effects; determiningan intent of the information; determining for each of the plurality ofwearable haptic devices, a location of the wearable haptic device on theuser and a haptic capability; and mapping the information as a hapticeffect to one or more of the wearable haptic devices based at least onthe determined locations on the user and the haptic capabilities. 20.The computer implemented method of claim 19, further comprising for eachof the locations on the user, determining a perceptual human threshold,wherein the mapping is based at least on the perceptual humanthresholds.
 21. The computer implemented method of claim 19, whereindetermining the haptic capability comprises determining types ofavailable haptic effects.
 22. The computer implemented method of claim21, wherein the types of available haptic effects comprise at least oneof: vibration, pressure, texture, temperature changes or deformation.23. The computer implemented method of claim 19, wherein determining thehaptic capability comprises determining types of actuators in eachwearable haptic device.
 24. The computer implemented method of claim 19,further comprising: determining a status of each of the plurality ofwearable haptic devices.
 25. The computer implemented method of claim19, wherein the intent comprises at least one of: an alert, anotification, background information or directional information.
 26. Thecomputer implemented method of claim 19, further comprising: receivingaudio or video data; and routing the audio or video data to one or moreof the wearable haptic devices.
 27. The computer implemented method ofclaim 19, wherein the receiving information to be conveyed using hapticeffects is received from a standalone device manager.
 28. The computerreadable medium of claim 1, wherein the plurality of wearable hapticdevices on the user comprises devices that are held by the user.
 29. Thewearable device manager of claim 10, wherein the one or more wearabledevices comprise devices that are held by the user.
 30. The computerimplemented method of claim 19, wherein the plurality of wearable hapticdevices comprise devices that are held by the user.
 31. The wearabledevice manager of claim 10, wherein a standalone manager is incommunication with the wearable device manager, and the standalonemanager provides the information.
 32. The wearable device manager ofclaim 31, wherein the standalone manager is in communication with one ormore additional wearable device managers and the standalone managermanages all of the wearable device managers.